Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-03
CATARRH,

THE TERN CATARRH is APPLIED TO
Il peculiar disorder of the nostiils and
aolacent parts, which prevails to an alarm.
ing extent and is productive of very serious
consequences.
The mast prominent and characteristic
feature Is moroid discharge from the
times.
In some there is an almost constant flow
OF clear, acrid fluid, but oftener an Offer sive,
puruient or rmuco-purulent, reenish-y yellow
matter Is issecreted, which accumulates in
the nostrils or drops into the throat, necesn
stating its frequent removal by blowing the
nose or expectoration. and often by both
processes. Sometimes patients feel as
though their whole head was in a state of
rottenness, so great is the amount of matter
discharged and SO fetid is its odor. The
patient is greatly annoyed by the constant
dropping into the throat of the morbid mat
ter from the head, and as u recumbent posi-
tion naturally favors the flow downward.
his rest Is frequently disturbed from this
cause. Many sufferers are obliged to lie
with the head very much elevated in order
to sleep with some degree of comfort.
In others tough. viscid and offensive
phlegm collects behind end above the soft
palate, in the passage between the throat
and head, adhearing to the parts with glu-
ish tenacity. Its lodgment embarrasses
respiration and creates a sens tion of irri
tation and uneasiness in the affected local
ity, which gives rise to a constant and al
most irresistible desire to relieve the dis
comfort by drawing the mucus into the
throat so as to eject It by the m luth. This
practice. popularity known as hawking"
is CHARACTERISTIC OF catarrh, and proves as
embarrassing to the one affected as it is
disagreeable to those around him.
Again, the offensive matter bardens and
deposits itself on the membrane in the
g. tape of ory, hard concretions, which are
discharged by way of the nostrils or throat
in Jumps or fragments of q deep green tint.
In some cases these incrustativns accumu-
late to such an extent as to form regular
plug in the nose, which obstructs breathing
ana produces serious discomfort. So firm
ly do these 1ncrustatiuns adhere to the
point of attachment that their removal
usually requires the most vi, lent efforts
the membrane. Occasionally a solid cast
OF notable size is expel ed, on which there
are generally traces of blood. but in some
cases the cast presents a tubular appear.
ance, being of exact shape of the nasal
cavity. THIS condition is indicative of ul-
ceration, which, in time, may destroy the
bony st ucture of the nose and produce a
subsequent fattening OF that organ.
Gases are occasionally met with in which
thick, yiscid, Shiny secretion coats the
mem brane OF the nhsai cavities and then
putrifes, giving rise to stencil which is
really overpow ering and sufficiently fetid to
poison the atmosphere of a whole room;
and there are others in which all the secre-
ions OF the me mbrane are suspended, caus-
Ing an unpleasant feeling OF dryness, heat
and feyerishness in the head and nose-a
tarrh.
The disease speedily extends to the air
cavities OF the bones OF the forehead and
face, giving rise to a distressing sensation
of h avy weight or compression over the
forehead, especially in the region above
end between the Eyes. and 10 a feeling of
fulness, heat, irritation, soreness, or pain in
the nostrils near the root OF the nose, as
we'll as in the upper part of the throat,
above and behind The soft palate. Some-
times there is pain obstinaely fixed in some
particular part, as in the temple, on the top
of the head, at the back of the neck, or be-
hind the orbids, and occasionally pain
manifests itself IN the face of SO severe
character that 1t is frequently mistaken for
neuralgia.
The breath is always tainted and at times
assumes an exceeding fetid and sickening
OdOr. In some cases it becomes 30 revolt
ingly offensive as to render the sufferer an
object OF disgust to himself as well as to
others.
The nasal membr ane Is thickened and
congested, causing the nose to be stopped
up. sometimes on one side, sometime on the
other, and often on both, giving rise to
| oisagreeable, stuffy sen. .ation in the head,
and OecasiOning violent and prolonged
paroxysms of sneezing.
The voice is weak, indistinct and husky
or OF nasal charac er di playing a sort of
shifting quality. Oftenti mes there is a con-
tinuous hoarseness and discordance. There
is also sense OF irritation in the throat,
and frequent attempts to clear the parts of
or less forcibly. In some cases patients
complain of an comfortable feeling of
fullness, or choky ensation in the throat
and in others OF distressing and almost
constant dryness, for the temporary relief
OF which they have to swallow frequently.
Others, again, speak OF a constant bad or
nauseoUs taste in the mouth or throat.
The stomach generally suffers mole or
less AID becomes weak and irritable the
appetite is capficious and nearly always
bad in the morning. The patient Is Ian
guild, unable to perform mental or physical
labor with the usual facility, is nervous. de-
pressed in spirits, at times fearful, tim ID.
agitated and inclined to drowsness and
sleep. the memory weakened and perma-
nent impairment seriously threatened.
The mucous membrane soon becomes
morbidly sensitive to unfavorable indu-
ences. and in spite of the utmost care be-
comes affected from the slightest causes, SO
! that at last breath of wind upon the lining
of the nose or throat becom-s productive OF
a cold, and gives rise to serious disturb
ances of the respiratory organs. Thus the
patient is subject to frequent and repeated
colds. each attack aggfavating the disease
by giving 1t new impulse and involving q
larger extent or surface than its predecessor,
In this manner the difficulty spreads from
organ to organ, invading the throat, larnyx,
trachea and bronchial tubes, until, en-
croaching further and further. it reaches
the finer rami 6cations of the brOncbi, when
but slight impulse Is required to send il
to the lungs. Catarrh may, aud often does.
atect other organs in the body, especially
those containing mucous membrane. such
as the stomach, bowels, kidneys, etc.
By the employment of proper inhalations
in the form of medicated vapor (not steam
or spray) we are able to produce immediate
and direct action upon the diseased surface
in the pharynx and nas.l passages, for air
will find Its way into the most remote and
intricate cavities, where 1t Is utterly impos-
sible to make fluid applications BY these
meaUs every case can be cured.
OZENA.
OzGna is the professional or technical
name given to an advanced form of catarrh
in which liberation has eaten through the
membrane lining OF the nose to the carti-
end in czena, but it most frequently occurs
in those who are naturally scrofulous. The
discharge takes place through the nostrils
or through the throat. and Is generally of
quently tinged with blood and almost al
ways attended by an offensive smell. In the
language of DR.. Wood, of Philadelphia,
"The disease Is one OF the most Obdurate
and dissgreeable which the physician has
to encounter. In bad cases the breath OF the
patient becomes SO revolving as to isolate
him from society and to re nder him an OBJ
ject OF disgust even @ to himself" In some
slough off, leaving deep, unhealthy ulcers,
which secrete bloody matter, and are ex-
tremeIy difficult to heal. After ozena has
continued some time the sense of smell
usually becomes impaired and often lost.
Deafness is one of its most common conse-
quencts, and results from Its extension
through the eustachian ubes to the internal
ear. Pains in the head and over the frontal
sinuses, impairing memory. and even in.
sanity frequently spring from its extension
to the brain. The greatest danger, how
ever. because the most common, is that it
will extend downward and affect the lungs.
In most cases of pulmonary disease catarrh
is present in some degree and in many in
stances 1t causes large share OF the pa
tients discomfort.
Besides these grave consequences, all of
which are liable to sp lug from scrofulous
catarrh or ozGna, there are others which, IL
less dangerous, are sufficiently unpleasant.
1t occasions great unhappness to thousands
of both sexes, by isolating them and pre-
venting their settlement in life An often.
sive running from the nose, with foul
breath. is about as great a calamity as can
befall young people, ifor no yo ng person
should think marry inU w hiln a NJ